Posted 3 years ago on Aug. 29, 2013, 8:01 p.m. EST by MattLHolck
(16833)
from San Diego, CA
This content is user submitted and not an official statement

Matthew:

Sorry, I’m not trying to stress you out…but it’s back-to-school time, and for far too many California students, that means going into substantial debt. In a few years, it will mean getting one of those emails every single month.

Our higher education system is on an unsustainable path – as a UC Regent and a CSU Trustee, I see it first-hand. We all talk about economic recovery and job growth, and we all know that an educated, skilled workforce is a key component of that, but still too many of our colleges and universities remain out-of-reach – or so expensive that they cripple students’ finances and limit their opportunities after they finish school. It’s not right.

I was glad to see President Obama address the need for reform in our higher education system last week and I applaud his call for action. But what happens now that the bus tour is over and we’ve moved on to the latest headline of the week? The students starting classes this week certainly won’t see a difference. What about the ones who start college next year? Or the year after that?

If you’re ready to join me in the fight to keep our California public education institutions accessible to all, let me know! Check out my new Higher Ed. magazine on Flipboard to stay on top of the latest news, and give me your feedback on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.
Thanks,

Gavin

"and we all know that an educated, skilled workforce is a key component of that,"

I disagree

base wealth is not increased by people having greater education

people with education are more often employed by those with money

interest on my student loan of $35 k will be 7 k by next year. that's 20% AccountNumber 804102982 that can't be right.

Jobs for college grads are the top part of a pyramid of jobs. For every college graduate who gets a job, it means a blue collar job for maybe 2 to 100 people.

But the bottom line is its a pyramid. Therefore, to say that more and more should be college educated just means there needs to be millions upon millions more to do the work of the end result of the jobs that the college educated get.

As for interest rates, other than a nominal 2% to 4% interest rate charge, there should be NO ENTITY in this country allowed to charge 15% and 20% interest.

The original purpose of interest rate charges is no longer needed.
In its heyday, interest rate charges made sense because once the loan was paid back, some type of truly new commerce was created such as a bridge, wider roads, increasing the reach of phone lines, more efficient distribution and so on. Therefore, the profits created were not only immense, but jobs were created as well, so the interest rate charge was just not a big deal.

Many present day technological enhancements nowadays are app based, and that is a critical difference to the past because every time an app gets created, it creates greater efficiency for the masses WHILE ALSO CUTTING JOBS, aka how the greater efficiency occurs.

The economy is a con job that will never truly improve as long as people have anywhere from 20% to 50% of their monthly spendable income going towards the interest rate charge on their existing debt.

I have read that 48% of our economy is based on financing of some sort, it used to be 18%. Until that number drops back down under 20%, there will be no improved economy and therefore going into debt is a BAD BAD idea.

The way occupy wall street could affect change is not to buy bad debt, but to take over existing debt and agree to only charge 1% interest as long as the debtor agrees to truly pay down the debt each and every month.